1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to computer networks and, more particularly, to a method of communicating non-standardized addresses over a standardized carrier network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer systems are commonly linked together through a communication network. The communication network can be local, for example, a token ring or ethernet link between a number of computers in one or more sites. Each computer is connected, for example by coax cable, to a central server through which the computers exchange and share information. The communication link can also be global over common carrier lines or other communication networks. The public internet is the classic example of a global communication link.
The development of modern computer communications has not had the stabilizing influence of a strong governing body. As a consequence, large corporations and other entities, partly out of lack of standards and partly out of necessity, have developed their own dedicated and private computer networks each with their own addressing scheme. At the same time, the internet and other communication networks have standardized to their own addressing scheme(s). As computer communications developed such private computer networks have become incompatible with the global internet. Private computer systems have generally avoided the global internet incompatibility issue by using dedicated leased lines between remote locations.
The typical system for a private computer network comprises one or more computers at a first location connected by local area network to one or more routers. The router is a dedicated computer or processor, which handles incoming and outgoing communications to the local network. The router is connected, possibly through additional routers, to a leased communication line which in turn connects to a destination router in a second remote location. The router operates as a switch to route data from a source computer to a destination computer based on an address. The router includes a table lookup to determine the next location or xe2x80x9chopxe2x80x9d in the path to the remote destination. The leased line can be a hardwired telephone line, fiber optic cable, satellite link, or other wireless link.
Such dedicated leased lines are rather expensive resources for private communication networks. To reduce operating costs, it is desirable to find a less expensive alternative for global communication links. One option is to communicate between routers over public or private standardized carrier networks, such as the internet. In the above example, the local router at the first location interfaces through an internet service provider to the internet. A pathway or xe2x80x9ctunnelxe2x80x9d is established through the carrier network to an endpoint at the second location. The local router at the second location, also interfaced with an internet service provider, communicates with the local router at the first location through the tunnel.
The difficulty with such a plan is that the addressing scheme on the private computer network often does not match the addressing scheme on the public internet or other standardized carrier network. The private computer network may have been setup with a custom addressing scheme that has little or no relationship to the standardized carrier network address scheme, or may otherwise have some address conflict with the standardized carrier network. The address conflict often takes the form of duplicate addresses between the standardized carrier network and the private computer network. Thus, a potential for address conflicts exists between the non-standardized private computer network and the standardized public carrier network.